


Course Correction

by scifishipper



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, F/M, Mysticism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-19
Updated: 2011-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-27 12:58:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/296102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifishipper/pseuds/scifishipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Adama gives the Demetrius to Kara, Lee can't let her go without him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Course Correction

Lee pulled his dress grays off of the hanger and folded them neatly, laying them at the top of a box of clothing. He ran his fingers along the silken sash, with his honorary pins still attached. So much had changed since the last time he’d worn this uniform. Now he stood in civilian clothes, packing away his belongings, ready to start his journey as a part of the government.

Pulling out the remaining items from his locker triggered an onslaught of memories about the time he had served on Galactica, starting out as a young and inexperienced CAG, toughened by war until he commanded his own battlestar. He smiled grimly as he folded his fatigues and tanks, feeling an ache as he thought about the remarkable ship that was Pegasus and his honor at commanding her. But she, like so many things, was gone and he needed to move on.

Lee stretched out tape over the flaps on the box, sealing it and dropping it onto the floor next to his box of law books. He looked around the quarters, emptied of Dee’s belongings a few weeks ago and now his own. They’d had some good times here and for a while he’d even thought it might work between them. After he’d made his decision about Kara, it had for a while. And then Kara had died and everything had changed.

With a shake of his head, he pushed that painfully bright image of her ship exploding out of his mind. That didn’t matter any more. By some miracle, she was back, whole and remarkable and so very frakking alive. That had made his world right again and he knew he could move on to his new life without the heavy grief he’d carried for so many months. He tried not to think about everything he wanted to say to her; how much he’d wanted to turn back time and say yes when she’d asked him to leave Dee all those months ago – that maybe she would not have died in the first place if they had been together. But he hadn’t done those things and now Kara was back with Sam. He made himself believe it was all okay, as long as she was alive.

Determined to go forward, he thrust the rest of his belongings in a duffel and took a final survey of the room, spinning around looking for forgotten items. He was startled to hear a heavy knock at the hatch and pulled it open.

It was his father, standing unexpectedly in the corridor. Lee was about to greet him with a smile when he saw his face. Lee waved him in. “Dad? What happened?”

Adama walked in and turned as Lee pushed the hatch closed behind him. “Kara held the President at gunpoint. I just left her in the brig.”

Lee paled. “What?” Shock filtered through him.

Adama lowered himself into a chair with a heavy sigh. “She knocked out two guards and barged into my quarters and held the President at gunpoint. She’s ranting and raving about knowing the way to Earth, Lee. I’ve never seen her this way – it’s like she’s possessed. Laura believes she’s a cylon.” He snorted in disgust. “I don’t know what to believe.”

Lee sat, too, staring at his father. “When did this happen? What is she saying? Frak.” Lee’s mind was awhirl with questions. Abruptly, he stood, “I should go and see her.” He really didn’t care if she was a cylon. She was _Kara_.

As Lee approached the hatch, his father stopped him. “Lee, wait. She’s not the same. I don’t know what happened to her for those two months, but she’s not the same.” Adama’s voice was filled with sadness. “I don’t know what’s worse, having her gone or having her back like this.”

Lee turned back to face his father, speaking without hesitation. “Having her back, Dad. That’s better. That will always be better.” He gave his father a hard stare, shocked that he could even ask that question.

Adam frowned deeply. “I’m not sure you’d say that if you saw what I saw.”

“What are you talking about?”

Adama stood up and walked towards his son. “Come with me.”

~ ~ ~

Lee watched, horrified, as his father showed him silent security footage of Kara in the brig an hour before, writhing on the metal floor, screaming and crying something he could not hear. Lee raised a hand to his mouth. “Gods, Kara.” He was filled with concern and pain.

“I have to see her.” Lee left his father’s side and nearly ran to the brig. This was not the Kara Thrace he knew. Something was very, very wrong.

As he approached, he saw through the window that she was calmer, leaning up against the bars of the brig, her eyes closed. As he approached the cell, she looked up at the sound of movement. Her face was pale and her eyes were red from crying.

The guard opened the door and Lee stepped in. Kara’s expression didn’t change. It was flat, unfocused, distant.

“Kara? Are you okay?”

She didn’t look at him as she spoke in a faint voice, “We’re going the wrong way.”

“What do you mean?” He crouched next to her.

“We’re going the wrong way,” she repeated, tears starting stream down her face. She looked at him desperately. “I saw Earth. I touched it, I smelled it. I was there. Why doesn’t anyone believe me?” Her voice broke into sobs.

Lee moved closer, sitting on the floor facing her and drew her into his arms. “I don’t know, Kara. I don’t understand.” He held her limp shaking body as she cried.

When her breathing calmed, Lee leaned back and brushed tears off of her face. “Tell me about it. Tell me about Earth. I’ll listen.”

For the first time, she met his eyes and she seemed like Kara again. A slowly brightening energy lit inside her as she told him about the beautiful planet she’d seen.

~ ~ ~

They spoke for a long time, Kara telling Lee all of the details of her journey, crying again when she spoke about how no one believed her, accepting Lee’s arms and words of comfort until her story was done. Finally, with a kiss on her forehead, Lee left Kara’s side and went directly to his father’s quarters.

“I saw Kara. She told me everything and I believe her.” His voice was clear and true as he stood in front of his father’s desk, unburdened by their military relationship, simply a father and son once more.

Bill leaned back in his chair, appraising him. “I have to follow the President’s lead on this, Lee. I told you my feelings about it. Kara’s actions with the Laura tell me that she is unstable – I can’t trust her.”

Lee shook his head as his father spoke. “No, Dad. My gut, my brain, everything tells me that she knows the way to Earth. If you can’t trust her, then trust me. I believe her.”

Adama sighed. “This is a difficult position, but I’m not taking the Fleet back in the other direction. I’ve made my decision. I stand by the President’s wishes.”

“Then just give her a ship. A ship and a skeleton crew. Let her try to find Earth.” He put his hands on his father’s desk and leaned forward. “Because what if she is right? What if she can find it and we miss it? We could be searching for years until we all die or the cylons finally obliterate us. Think about it. It’s one ship. Just one ship.”

Bill stared up at him, weighing his words. “Okay, Lee. One ship.”

Lee leaned back, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

~ ~ ~

Kara lay on the floor of the brig, feeling more settled and peaceful than she’d felt since she arrived back on Galactica. Lee hadn’t stared at her like she was crazy; he hadn’t doubted her for even a second. He had simply believed her and that was all that mattered.

At the clanging of the door, she turned to see Sergeant Mathias and two guards coming into her cell.

“Cuff her,” Mathias said, directing the shorter of the two Marines.

“What’s going on?” A shot of fear rushed into her throat. “Mathias? What are you doing?”

The two guards grabbed her roughly and snapped the cuffs into place. They led her to the hangar deck where she saw the Admiral waiting. _What had happened? Where was Lee?_

Kara faced the Admiral, her features drawn and tight and she spoke through clenched teeth, desperation and rage driving her harshest tone. “So, this is what it’s come to, Admiral. You’re airlocking me – getting rid of your problem. Well, I’m not afraid.”

With an insulting tone, Bill spoke, “I guess it’s easier the second time around, eh?”

Kara nearly snarled, “Harder, actually. But you’ll never find Earth. I know the way and I can get us there.”

Bill frowned deeply, the anger leaving his face slowly. “I don’t know what you know anymore. I don’t believe your visions, but I can’t afford to be wrong.” The older man motioned to the guards. “Take off the cuffs.”

A hesitant relief started through her. “Admiral?”

The sound of feet drew her attention behind her. It was Lee and he was in uniform.

“Lee? What’s going on?” She looked back and forth between the Old Man and Lee.

Lee approached and stood at her side, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze then looked at his father.

The older man nodded at his son. “Lee believes you, Kara. Believes you enough that he’s taken back his wings.”

Kara flashed a look at Lee. She’d heard about his resignation, how he’d defended Baltar, how he and his father had nearly come to blows. Her eyes widened, but before she could ask any questions, Adama spoke.

“I’m giving you a ship. I hope you can handle the smell.”

Lee interjected. “We’ve liberated the Demetrius – a sewage recycling ship. The line is that we are on a food scouting mission.”

It took a minute for Kara to comprehend what they were saying and she looked at Lee. “We? You’re going with me?” Her heart started to pound in her chest.

“Yeah. I’m coming with you.” Lee glanced at his father and then embraced her. Kara felt the pieces clicking into place.

Kara squeezed him tightly and then released him with a whoosh of air before she turned and threw her arms around Adama. “Thank you, Sir. I’ll find it. I promise.” She leaned back and met his eyes. “I’ll find Earth, Boss.”

Kara stepped back and Adama spoke, “I hope you do, Kara. I hope you do.”

~ ~ ~

The Demetrius was a foul-smelling ship with tight quarters and just enough functionality to navigate and house a crew of sixteen. The cooling system was broken and the air filtration system would be the first to be repaired as their journey began.

Three days after the Admiral’s orders, they were ready to leave the fleet with five vipers and a raptor for their journey. Lee commanded the ship with Helo as his XO, while Sharon, Hot Dog, Seelix and five other pilots were slated to run CAPs and do the long-range scans needed to find Earth. Lieutenants Gaeta, Hoshi, and Sanders manned the Nav and Comm systems. Specialists Tripp, Thopall, and Acker worked in the engine room and maintained the equipment as needed. Sergeant Mathias and Corporal Hobart acted as support crew. Lee had been surprised when the Gunny volunteered, but Kara had just shrugged, saying that they’d been through a lot together and they both believed in Earth.

As they completed their final prep, Lee and Kara stowed the last of the food and medical supplies in the forward storage compartments.

Lee cleared his throat and spoke, asking the question that had been on his mind since they’d started prepping. There was something he needed to know before they left. “What about Sam, Kara?”

She flashed him a look, then shoved a box onto a shelf before slamming the compartment door closed. “I told him I was going to find Earth. And I told him he wasn’t invited.”

Lee stared at her as she walked away, back straight, knowing that there had been a lot more to that conversation than she’d let on. He had no idea what it meant for _them_ , or even if there could be a them, but he was grateful to be with her, no matter what.

Three hours later, they were ready to jump. Lee grabbed his gear and headed towards the CO’s quarters. As he swung open the rusted hatch, he was surprised to see Kara standing next to the rack digging in her duffel.

“Kara? I thought these were my quarters?” He wasn’t ready to hope just yet.

Kara glanced at him. “What, Lee? You don’t want to share?” she asked, turning the bag upside down and emptying the contents onto the rack. She tossed the bag aside and turned to face him.

“Don’t look so shocked, Lee. Do you think I came back from the dead just to make the same stupid mistakes again?”

Lee’s eyes widened and he stuttered, “I just… I didn’t know…”

She took three steps towards him and stood close, eyes locked onto his. “You learn a few lessons when the Gods frak with your existence. I have a second chance to do things right and I’m not frakking it up this time.”

Kara twisted her fingers in his shirt and pulled his mouth down onto hers. Shock flooded Lee’s body and his hands went into her hair, pulling at her like a starving man, every single thought banished from his mind at the taste of her lips and tongue and mouth.

After a few minutes of desperate kisses, it was Kara who broke away, her gaze thick with passion. “We have time for this later. We have to go.” She gave him one more hard kiss on the mouth and then brushed past him and headed out the hatch, leaving Lee stunned, a slow grin forming on his lips.

~ ~ ~

Fifteen hours into their mission, they’d made one jump and had run two long-range scans with no positive results. It was the end of their first shift and Lee had left Helo on duty with Sharon and Hot Dog running the CAP. Seelix and Ripper were getting rack time, while Hoshi took the Nav shift. Thopall was below decks replacing the cooling coils in the hope that they could find some relief from the blistering heat on the ship. After half a day, the smell of the ship still burned his nose and Lee hoped the new air filters would be installed before his next rotation.

He walked back into their quarters to find Kara hunched over the small desk, stacks of papers and rolled up star charts cluttering the surface. She glanced up at him as he entered and launched directly into her thoughts about the two other systems she’d pinpointed for Helo to scan.

“Whoa, Kara. That’s pushing it. When are you going to sleep? I know for a fact that you’ve been up for more than thirty hours. You need to sleep.”

“No way, Lee. I’m not wasting a minute of our two months on sleep. Frak that.” She pulled out one particular chart from the stack. “Look at this. It’s trinary and the spectrometry readings look great. This could be the one.” He voice lit with hope as she shoved the chart at him.

Lee scanned it. “Yeah, it looks good. Do you want me to take it down to Helo?”

“No, I told him already.” She’d already focused her attention back onto the notebook in front of her, scribbling furiously.

Lee took in her exhausted face and put a hand on her wrist. “Kara. You need to sleep.”

She yanked her hand away, glaring at him. “I already said no, Lee. You sleep. I’m fine.”

He looked at her for a minute and let it go. She needed to do this. He didn’t fully understand what drove her, but he had to trust it.

“Okay,” he said and planted a kiss on her head. He stripped down to his boxers, feeling strangely uncomfortable despite the fact that he and Kara used to share a rack with other pilots. Now, though, he knew it was different, more serious and meaningful. It would take some getting used to.

He moved Kara’s things, the pile of clothes and personal items she’d left on the rack before they’d kissed. He envisioned their quarters in two weeks time and knew it would be chaos. He decided not to care.

Gratefully, he slid into the rack; he also had not slept in about thirty hours. He let out a long breath and stretched out on the thin mattress and closed his eyes.

~ ~ ~

The first five days of the mission were hectic, filled with mechanical problems throughout the ship, including a problem with the FTL drive. Kara was calm at first as Lee explained the issue, doing his best to reassure her that Gaeta was confident about a successful repair. She looked at him with panicked eyes before quickly dissolving into an angry rant about the incompetence of the crew and how the President had set her up to fail.

“This ship is a piece of crap. I can’t believe this is what the Admiral gave us to find Earth. We’re frakking looking for Earth, Lee! The Admiral couldn’t have spared a frakking ship that worked?” Kara’s voice rose as she ranted, blaming everyone, including him, for the problems they’d been having so far.

She raged on, pointing a finger in his direction. “They’re all a bunch of incompetent knuckledraggers. What in the hell is your crew doing, anyway? We should be jumping to these coordinates right now.” Her voice was strident as she thrust a star chart at him. Unruffled, he took the paper out of her hands and placed it calmly back on the desk.

Lee stepped forward and wrapped his fingers gently around her upper arms, feeling the damp sweat on her skin. “Kara, calm down. It’s only day five. Gaeta will fix it and we’ll get going again.” She tried to shrug him off, but he tightened his grip. “C’mon. We have a few hours of waiting…let’s make the best of it.” He cocked an eyebrow and leaned in to kiss her.

Kara resisted the gentle pressure at first, but then he felt her body relax and her arms snaked around his neck. He deepened the kiss, dipping his tongue into her mouth, and sliding his hands down to cup her breasts. Kara pressed her hips into his and surged forward, pushing him against the bulkhead. Her response was fierce now as she pulled at his tanks and pants, stripping him and dropping onto her knees to take him into her mouth.

Lee groaned, running his fingers through her hair as she drove his pleasure higher and higher, then pulling her up when he got too close to breaking. It was still a wonder, he thought, making love to Kara without worries or fears, knowing that she had made her choice. When he pressed her back onto the rack, she stared up at him, her face flushed with arousal, and raised her head to capture his mouth again. As his body moved over hers, she guided him into her, crying out at his deep thrust. They moved together, hands touching everywhere, until ecstasy drew out staccato moans and shudders, Lee’s face buried into Kara’s shoulder, panting her name over and over again.

She was calmer then, resting against him, until she couldn’t stay still and rose once again to go back to her charts. He lingered and slept until the comm sounded and they heard the news that FTL drive had been fixed. It was time to start jumping again.

~ ~ ~

Ten days later, Kara was starting to snap and bark at him every time he entered the room. As far as he knew, she barely slept, falling into a fitful slumber only when Lee pulled her physically into their rack and frakked her to the point of exhaustion. Otherwise, she spent every moment obsessively pouring over charts and maps and books, looking for the elusive trinary system she’d seen in her visions. He brought her food but it usually lay cold and uneaten next to her. She also rejected his offers of help, saying that only she could find Earth.

The crew was handling the mission fine so far, following orders and running their scans with the expected military precision. Lee overheard snippets of conversations about the mission and about Kara, listening for signs of frustration or problems that would need to be addressed before they expanded into something larger than the normal gripes of military life. Even after two weeks, it was apparent that Kara planned to push them hard, almost as hard as she pushed herself.

~ ~ ~

After twenty-five days, the calm chatter became more negative as the tight quarters and miserable heat took its toll on the crew. Lee and Helo did a good job of keeping it locked down, but when Specialist Tripp finally gave up on the cooling system, tempers flared. It would be another five weeks without relief from the oppressive heat. The stink of human sweat and the ever-present stench of sewage had begun to wear on everyone.

Kara rarely emerged from their quarters and hadn’t spoken civilly to him for three days. When he'd tried to drag her into the rack she'd resisted, threatening to lock him out if he didn’t leave her alone. With a growing frustration and feeling of helplessness, he'd eased up on his pressure and just did his best to support her efforts with the now bleary-eyed crew.

~ ~ ~

When they reached the forty-day mark, Lee thought the crew might mutiny. He’d never seen Sharon and Helo argue so bitterly and even he had grown extremely tired of the constant jumping and cataloguing of systems. Three times already, Kara had insisted on course corrections, and now, she had done so again.

Lee came on deck just in time to hear the tail end of Sharon’s angry words to Helo. “Frak this, Karl. I’m not doing it. Have someone else fly the CAP.” She’d brushed past him then, nearly running headlong into Lee. “Sir,” she mumbled and continued down the steps to her quarters below decks.

“Helo. What’s going on?” Lee approached the taller man.

“The crew’s getting tired. This ship, the endless failures. She’s pushing them too hard. You gotta do something.”

Lee’s jaw tightened. “I trust her. She thinks were closer. I have to believe her.” He wasn’t sure his voice was all that convincing.

Helo faced Lee squarely. “You’re losing their respect, you know? The crew thinks Kara’s the CO, not you. It’s going to get ugly.”

Lee shifted on his feet, recognizing the truth of his words. “I’ll see what I can do.” He left Helo standing at the Con and headed back to his quarters.

When he arrived, he found Kara working on her mural, a colorful representation of the trinary system she’d seen. Paint was splattered all over the blanket on their rack and her face and hair were marked with red and blue and yellow streaks.

“Kara, what’s going on? You need to come out and talk to the crew. They’re starting to wonder what in the hell is going on.” Lee’s tone was irritated.

“So, let them wonder,” she said, slapping a thick line of red along the edge of the mural. “Frankly, they’re starting to piss me off, too.”

“Come on… Half of this crew are our friends. We’re pushing them too hard and frankly, I don’t know what the frak is going on with you! You don’t sleep, you barely speak to me, you don’t eat. This is getting out of hand. It’s been forty days – the crew needs a break. We all need a break.”

“Frak off, Lee,” she said angrily, yet another in a long line of dismissals he’d been getting for the past two weeks. The only things that came out of her mouth were orders and harsh words. He’d just about had enough. “You said you wanted to find Earth. That’s what we’re doing. Deal with it or get the frak out.”

“Frak off yourself, Kara. This is bullshit. Yeah, I want to find Earth, but I also want you sane. You’re going off the deep end. You need to frakking sleep. Don’t you see it? I can’t even have a rational conversation with you. Now our rack is covered in frakking paint and all you can do is bitch at me. It’s getting old.”

Kara snorted at him. “Like sleeping is why you want me in that rack, Lee. That’s the problem, right? You're not getting to frak me.” Her tone dripped with derision. “Well, don't worry, it isn’t that good anyway. There was a reason I married someone else, remember?” She scraped a long white arc across the middle of the mural, the grating sound of metal on metal echoing her harsh words.

Lee blanched, shock nearly pushing him back like a physical force. A second later, it was outrage that filled him. “Frak you, Kara. I know you don't believe that.” he said bitterly through clenched lips, holding on to whatever reason he might have left.

“Yeah, right,” she mumbled and fury shot through him hard and fast. He snatched the tool out of her hand and threw it hard against the bulkhead. “Starbuck!” he boomed, letting all of his anger drive into that one word, hoping to reach her. Kara jumped back, growling at him, and lunged out of the rack, “Get out, Lee. Get the frak out.” She shoved him, screaming for him to leave her alone, pushing him back against the hatch.

His back hit the wheel and he grabbed her hard by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Stop this, Kara. Frakking stop. You are out of control!” He shook her and she glared at him, eyes wild, breath coming in short gasps. And then she pushed herself into him, kissing him hard on the mouth, smashing his lips painfully against his teeth.

“Frak!” he grated and shoved her off him. “No way, Kara. Get off me.” Disgust filled him. "There's no way I'm touching you. Not like this." Panicked thoughts raced through his mind. Everything was falling apart and he was slowly watching her go mad.

Kara just stepped back, seemingly unaffected with a half-crazed grin on her face. It was like he didn’t even exist. “We have to find Earth. We have no time. Don’t you get it? We have no frakking time!” Her voice rose sharply and she turned away from him and went back to the mural, leaving him standing by the hatch staring at her.

“Please just let me find it,” she said, her voice softer as she resumed her painting. Lee’s heart pounded and his breath came in shallow beats. He had no idea how they were going to get through the next two weeks.

All of it was spinning out of control and he didn’t even recognize her. His Kara had been slowly dissolving as her obsession grew, hours and days spent pouring over maps and charts, making drawings, and checklists and snapping and shouting at him until now, when it had almost come to blows.

Quietly, he left the quarters, his heart heavy with pain and doubt. All along the way, he’d trusted her, believed in her vision until she lashed out at him, screaming in his face and hurling insults. Forty days and no joy. No Earth. No Kara Thrace. Just a crazy woman with no rationality, who never slept or ate and threatened to drive everyone into madness themselves.

~ ~ ~

Ten days later, Lee was bone tired. He hadn’t spoken to Kara except to receive terse instructions about their next course and he’d been sleeping in an empty berth way below decks. The soldier part of him held on, though, knowing that soon they’d rendezvous with Galactica. He had no idea what would happen then, and part of him didn’t want to know. Lee was terrified that if she couldn’t find their destination she would break or run or… maybe even die. And he had no frakking idea what to do.

At the start of his next shift, Lee unexpectedly found Kara on deck talking to Helo. She was wearing a flight suit.

“Starbuck. What are you doing?” His tone was sharp and several sets of eyes swung suddenly in his direction.

“I’m flying a CAP, what does it look like?” She gave him a dismissive glance and zipped her suit.

Lee thought about denying her request and sending her back to her quarters, but at least this was something different. “Fine, but I’m going with you.” His tone was hard.

Helo opened his mouth to interject. Lee raised his hand. He was going.

Lee spun on his heel and headed towards the makeshift flight deck to suit up. He waited for Kara and they went through their suit checks, verifying seals and oxygen tanks before they went into the vacuum of space to climb into their birds.

Kara shot off first, leaving scorch marks along the deck and soon Lee followed.

After a few minutes of flying, he heard her voice faintly repeating, “Come on. Come on.” Something was happening and it filled him with dread.

It occurred to him suddenly that he had flown a viper only twice in recent months: once on the day she died and once on the day she’d returned. Those thoughts shook him deeply and fear coursed through his body.

A loud beeping in Lee’s ear drew his attention to the DRADIS panel. _Contact._

“Demetrius. Apollo. DRADIS contact. We’ve got inbound. One bogey bearing one-four-niner.”

“Copy that, Apollo.” Helo’s voice filled his helmet.

Kara finally spoke. “Son of a bitch, I knew it.”

The bogey came into view, a large rectangular ship spinning in space ahead of them. It was a single cylon vessel.

“Demetrius. Apollo. I’ve got visual. One heavy raider.”

Lee followed behind Kara until they got close enough to see what they were up against. “Demetrius. Apollo. There’s blast damage all over this thing. It’s spinning out of control.”

Starbuck careened towards the ship, muttering to herself. Lee could just make out the words.

“Come on, talk to me, shoot me, do something,” she said, as if she knew what was coming. Flashes of the electrical storm and her voice pleading for him to let her go rushed into his mind.

A male voice echoed in Lee’s ears as if answering her questions. “Kara. I’m alone. It’s not an attack. I knew I’d find you. I knew you’d be out here searching.”

“Leoben?” Kara’s voice was faint.

“Kara? What the frak is going on?” Lee asked the question, but already knew what was happening. Kara had told him about seeing Leoben before she died, about how he had come to her in a vision, drawing her down into the swirling clouds until her ship hit the hard deck and exploded.

“No. Kara. No. This is not happening.” His voice was frantic over the comm, but she ignored him. He couldn’t let it happen again. It couldn’t happen again. Desperation drove his racing heart and his palms began to sweat in his gloves.

Leoben spoke again, “I came to offer you a truce between cylons and humans.”

Lee’s voice pleaded with her. “Kara, this is a trap. Remember the storm. Kara!”

Lee pulled hard on the throttle, coming alongside her ship. He glanced over at her and saw her face, blank as if in a trance. She didn’t respond to his hails. Faintly, he heard Helo calling him from the Demetrius. He ignored it, all of this attention focused on Kara and the spinning raider ahead of them.

Leoben came over the comm again, “I have a chance for you to complete your journey.”

“Kara. Don’t listen to him. I can’t let this happen.” Frak! Lee pulled his ship away from Kara’s, training his weapons onto the raider. Everything told him this would lead to her end—their end, and he had to stop it.

Finally, Kara’s spoke, “Demetrius. Starbuck. Bring it in. We’re bringing the raider in.”

Helo responded instantly, “Starbuck. Demetrius. Are you crazy? No way. Apollo? You getting this?”

“Starbuck. Apollo. We’re not towing that thing in. Forget it. It’s Leoben, Kara. Remember what he did to you.” He knew with certainty that she could not hear him. He had to do this on his own.

“Kara, I’m sorry,” Lee said. “This isn’t going to happen again. Demetrius. Apollo. Weapons free.”

Kara was loud in his ears, desperation in her tone. “Lee! No! He can guide us there. He knows the way. You have to believe me.”

Lee’s thumb grazed the fire button. “That’s just it, Kara. I believe you. Not him. I can’t follow him.”

Without any more hesitation, he pressed down, watching the pulses of blue arc towards the wounded ship. This was the only answer.

Kara screamed, a sharp gutting sound. “Nooooooo!”

The raider exploded.

Lee could only whisper, “Kara? I’m sorry.”

~ ~ ~

Kara landed the viper hard on the deck, throwing back the canopy and climbing out of the bird as Lee settled his ship on the deck beside her. He watched her walk towards the airlock, shoulders slumped in defeat. He stayed in his bird, frozen suddenly by the fear that he had made the wrong choice.

An hour later, Lee found Kara in their quarters, sitting at her desk staring at the mural overhead. Her face was blank, devoid of any feeling or thought. She didn’t acknowledge him when he entered and did not respond when he spoke. After another hour of just sitting with her, hoping she would speak, he left for a while.

When he returned later, she still hadn’t moved, seeming locked into place by some unseen force that he could not penetrate. It worried him almost as much as the raving woman he’d seen a few days before.

Deciding he would wait it out, he laid down on the rack, throwing an arm over his eyes. Eventually she would speak; she had to.

He was still startled to hear her voice, thin and low. “It’s gone, Lee. The sound. It’s gone. I needed him to find Earth,” she finally said.

Lee turned over in the rack and looked at her. “No, Kara. That’s not true.”

“It is true, Lee. I can’t hear Earth anymore. You took it away from me.” There was no bitterness in her voice, just sadness and defeat.

It gutted him, knowing that he might have made the wrong decision. But in that moment, in space, flying next to her, every fiber of his being had screamed out that Leoben was a trap. “No, Kara. I believe _you_ can find Earth. You didn’t need him.” He sat up on the rack and leaned towards her, their bodies only a few feet apart. “I believe in _you_.”

She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Leave me alone, Lee.”

He waited a long minute, then left the quarters, a deep sense of loss resonating inside him. Everything was unguided now. No more jumps, no more scans, just the crew winding down the last few days until the rendezvous. Since the Leoben incident, the ship had taken on an eerie quality. Everyone whispered now, as if somehow the mood would be broken with a harsh sound.

As Lee passed through the command center, he caught Helo’s eyes. “You did the right thing, Lee. You know that right?”

He paused and gave Helo a sad expression. “Yeah. I know.”

But it didn’t seem to matter any more that he’d done the right thing. They’d all be going back to Galactica without Earth and Kara was further from him than she’d been since the mission had started. He knew she felt betrayed by him, and he also knew that there was nothing he could say to make her understand otherwise. He had no idea what it would do to them. If there even was a _them_ any more.

For the next couple of hours, Lee helped Sharon and Helo clean up the command center and take inventory. Kara needed her space and he wasn’t ready to face her again. When they were finally finished, however, he was tired and aching to see her.

With a deep inhale, Lee opened the hatch, expecting to see Kara in her chair, staring blankly at that damn mural. His mouth dropped open with surprise to see her sleeping soundly on the rack. It was the first time she’d slept in almost a week.

Stripping down to his boxers, he climbed into the rack and spooned behind her, snaking his arm around her waist. It was selfish of him, he knew, but in this moment, with her body pressed up against him, he didn’t care. Soon they’d be back on Galactica and everything might be over.

~ ~ ~

Lee woke early the next day with Kara still sleeping soundly, looking more peaceful than she had since the start of their mission.

As he climbed gingerly out of the rack and pulled on his clothes, he wondered if this was a sign that she would be able to let it go, or if she’d wake and give him the same deadened stare.

He made his way up to the command center to find Helo on duty, talking quietly to Sharon. They both gave him a sympathetic expression.

“How is she?” Helo asked.

“She’s sleeping. Can you believe it?” Lee smiled a little, feeling relieved in part that she was not pacing around the quarters with star charts and ranting about how the crew wasn’t scanning properly.

“That’s good. Maybe when she wakes up, it’ll be better.” Helo didn’t sound convinced, but Lee understood.

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, then turned his attention to Sharon. “Can I ask you something?” Lee rarely ever spoke about the fact that Sharon was a cylon. She’d just become Sharon again – and the cylons seemed more a mystery than ever.

“Why did Leoben search for her? Do you think he really knew how to get to Earth?”

Sharon smiled. “Number Two has always been obsessed with Kara. Ever since before the attacks, when the cylons were infiltrating the Twelve Colonies, he used to listen to her chatter over the comms. He’s had some kind of weird fascination with her, but that’s all. He doesn’t have any special powers, Lee. And no, I don’t think he knew the way to Earth. I think he just wanted her.”

Lee listened intently, trying to understand how Leoben could have found them in the depths of space. Gods, so many things didn’t make sense. Kara had died for frak’s sake and now she was sleeping in their rack, real and alive and _almost_ the same woman he’d known before. So much could not be explained and he knew he’d just have to accept it.

He’d also have to accept that Kara might never speak to him again because of it. And in some way, it didn’t matter. He believed that his actions had kept her alive.

~ ~ ~

For the rest of the day, Lee and a few of the other crew members continued their preparations to rendezvous with Galactica. Hoshi and Gaeta were wrestling with a flaky comm system and talking about how they’d never again gripe about Galactica’s sometimes-stale recycled air. The mood around the ship had lightened a little, and even if they hadn’t found Earth, everyone was grateful to be going home.

A voice sounded behind him. “Lee?” It was Kara. He turned around, blinking when he saw her. She’d showered and had dressed in clean clothes with her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Something in her eyes glittered and Lee felt hope rising inside him.

He walked over to her and she smiled at him. “Kara? Are you okay?” His heart was pounding in his chest. Maybe things were going to be okay between them.

She put a hand on his chest. “One more jump, Lee. Can we do one more jump?”

Lee’s brow wrinkled and he swallowed. “Kara?”

“It’s Earth, Lee. I have it now. I know how to get us there.” Her tone was calm and sure. None of the defeated tiredness remained.

Lee glanced at Helo who was staring at him with questioning eyes. They had to give her one more chance.

“Okay, Kara. Give me the chart,” Lee said.

“I don’t have a chart, Lee.” She tapped the side of her head with a finger. “I have the coordinates here. You were right about Leoben. He was guiding me towards _him_ not towards Earth. When he died, I was able to sleep – really sleep for the first time in more than two months. I dreamed of Earth, Lee, and I’m going to take us there.”

Kara smiled sweetly at him and touched his cheek. “Thank you.”

A slow smile spread across his face and joy filled him. He pulled her into a tight embrace and she laughed in his ear. He released her and stepped back. “Let’s go, Kara.”

Lee waved Gaeta away from the Nav computers and he and Kara approached.

“Prepare for jump,” Helo announced across the shipwide comm, his lips curving into a smile. “We’re going to Earth.” He’d overheard everything and nodded when Lee moved towards the FTL. Lee sensed six pairs of eyes on them, watching and sensing that this could be the moment they’d been waiting for.

“Are you ready?” he asked her. Kara nodded.

Lee put his arm around her shoulders as she typed the coordinates into the FTL computer and slid the bright key into the slot. Before she turned it, she looked at him with a satisfied expression. Her eyes were clear and free from doubt. “I’m ready,” she said.

Lee put his hand on hers and they turned the key together.

“Jump!”  
   
 **  
Epilogue**

Lee and Kara took the honors, suiting up to take the first look at the planet Kara had found for them. It was a far cry from the way things had been the last time Lee flew with her. That time, he’d killed Leoben, freeing Kara from the frightening hold he had over her mind. Even in the depths of space, Leoben was somehow tied to Kara’s fate. He’d never expected to be drawn into that, not out here, not where no other ship should have ever been seen. Now though, as they stepped outside, he was certain that he had been meant to kill the cylon. Kara was back to her old self, laughing and teasing the crew who were all grateful for her return.

As they stepped through the hatch onto the flight deck, Lee’s breath caught. Before them was a stunning and bright blue planet with masses of white clouds spanning its surface. He felt a surge of excitement and joy flooding through him. He had no doubts that this was the Earth they were meant to find – and that Kara’s disappearance and her mission, even her insanity, had led them here. He glanced over to her, and grinned. Her face was more alive than he’d seen since her return to Galactica all those weeks ago. Love surged inside him, but all he could do was wave across the way as she climbed into her viper. They’d had their moment of rejoicing, and they would again.

Soon, with the stick in hand, he was following Kara’s viper through the atmosphere of the planet, his heart pounding hard. This was it, the promised land, the end to the journey they had all suffered for. As the broke through the atmosphere, a landscape of rolling hills drew their attention. Kara directed her ship down, speeding fast through the sky.

“What do you think, Apollo? Wanna build a house?” Her bright laughter rang through his headset. He grinned wide, tears stinging his eyes. The planet was more beautiful than he could have hoped, with landscapes that reminded him of almost every one of the twelve colonies. It was a pristine planet, alive and gorgeous, and he was itching to set down and feel grass beneath his feet.

“You can build it, Kara. I’m going to do as little as humanly possible.” He’d dreamed for so long of finding this planet, this peace, that he was overwhelmed by the possibilities.

“Yeah, right. I bet you’d last three days before you’re off climbing mountains,” she teased and he chuckled.

“Only if you come, too, Starbuck.”

“Roger that, Apollo,” she said, speeding low across a wide green plain. “How about there?” she asked. “Nice and flat, river nearby.”

“I don’t see any mountains,” he grumbled. It was a beautiful land, but her offhanded comment sparked something inside him. He would like to explore, and the idea of doing it with Kara made him happier than he’d felt in a very long time.

“All right, Apollo. See if you can keep up with me.” She hit the throttle hard and sped away from him, laughing like a mischievous child.

He followed her as she passed one beautiful vista after another, dipping low enough at times to startle herds of antlered animals along the plains or birds in the canopy of a rich and thick forest. Soon, they found themselves near the mountains, their wide snow-topped peaks jutting above the clouds. Kara directed her viper lower, speeding along the ridges of the smaller rises and through the sloping valley nestled beneath the great peaks.

Lee grinned. Everything he wanted flashed into his mind. It was all finally possible.

“Bingo, Starbuck. That’s home.”

“Copy that, Apollo. We’re home.”


End file.
